"We made it very easy for them" - Hansi Flick delivers brutally honest opinion as Barcelona are held by Celta Vigo
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has delivered a brutally honest opinion after the club failed to beat Celta Vigo. Both sides shared the spoils in their 2-2 LaLiga draw at the Balaidos on November 23. However, the game might have gone much differently with the Blaugrana winning all three points, if not for some shocking scenes near the end.
Barca kept fairly stable control of the game, for the most part. An early goal in the 15th minute from Raphinha set the tone for their expectations, and in the 61st minute, Robert Lewandowski extended the lead with another goal. The two-goal cushion looked like it would be enough to clinch the game, but everything soon went awry.
In the 82nd minute, Marc Casado picked up his second yellow card and was given his marching orders. Just two minutes later, Barcelona defender Jules Kounde dallied on the ball in his own third, and was punished as Alfonso Gonzalez stole it and scored (84'). Celta Vigo smelled blood, and two minutes later, the Barca defense was in shambles as Hugo Alvarez scored the equalizer (86').
Despite the bizarre turn of events so late on, Hansi Flick was in no mood for excuses as he slammed the team in front of the press (via Football Espana):
“It wasn’t just a bad ten minutes. We played a really bad game today. We made too many mistakes and lacked confidence with the ball. We made it very easy for them to take a point.”
The manager will look to return to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong in the Celta Vigo clash. He only has a short time to do so, though, with Barcelona's UEFA Champions League match against Brest coming up on November 26 at the Lluis Companys.
Jules Kounde speaks out after Barcelona draw to Celta Vigo
Jules Kounde has spoken out after Barcelona endured a shock draw away from home at Celta Vigo. The defender was at fault for their opponents' first goal, as he held onto the ball for too long, seemingly losing concentration, before it was stolen from him.
Speaking afterwards, he took responsibility for the result, telling the press (via Barca Times):
"I take the responsibility for today's result. I'm sure that without my mistake, we would have won today. I didn't have a good game from the start, it was a lack of concentration and I paid for it. It was a huge mistake. It's not acceptable."
Kounde will look to improve on his concentration and work towards limiting such errors in the future. He has been a regular under Hansi Flick this season, making 18 appearances in all competitions so far.